The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0571

They're not lies.

Julian didn't say anything after that. Though, neither did I. I just gawked at him while he stared down at his bloody mary.

I wanted to ask him to go into more detail. If he could specifically tell me which of the things Bridget said weren't lies, I wouldn't be on such a downward spiral of thoughts. I wouldn't be trying so hard to bend over backwards to convince myself that Julian didn't actually have a crush on me somehow.

But, I supposed deep down, I already knew the truth. Not all that long ago, we had a similar talk on the beach as Julian threw rocks and shells into the ocean waves.

Yet here, in the quiet of the deck in this mid-morning, with Julian already halfway through a blood mary, everything felt a bit more dire, a bit more real.

This wasn't about getting over Bridget or trying to move on. Bridget had very little to do with this at all. This time, Julian's feelings were his own. And those feelings were all tangled up over me.

And now, because of that, I had to face my own true feelings as well. It would be unfair to Julian not to consider how I felt about him while he was being honest with how he felt about me.

Truthfully, even upon reflection, I didn't know how I felt about Julian. I cared about him, certainly. He was funny and loyal. He protected me and looked out for me in his own way. He was good with Elva, always trying to treat her sleight of hand and card tricks.

He was handsome too. Leaner than Nicholas, but with a similar features. Although Julian always leaned more toward the 'I got out of bed looking like this' vibe, where Nicholas was always crisply dressed and put together.

If I hadn't known Nicholas first, I could have easily been swept up in the whirlwind that was Prince Julian. He was certain to give his partner a life of adventure and joy and excitement. Content belong to NôvelDráma. Org.

But I had known Nicholas first. And I fell in love with Nicholas. My feelings for Nicholas were so strong, that I genuinely doubted if I would ever be able to give my heart to anyone else, even if Nicholas and I were to separate.

My heart would always be his. I wasn't sure I would even try to find another. How unfair would it be to be the love of someone else's life when they could never be anything but second best?

He deserved better than to live in the shadow of his

dear friend. One of

didn't want to

defense for my feelings," Julian said. He spoke so softly, I didn't realize he was speaking at first. I had to strain to listen, though

that," I said. "It's just..." I didn't want to hurt his feelings, especially with him being so brave to voice them. But to lead him on when my heart belongs to Nicholas would be so much

observant of our group, and he was, I wasn't exactly

"I'm sorry," I said.

how you feel," Julian replied. "You can't control your feelings any better than I can

say so. I let the

if we could ignore everything that

what we are to each

"You are a dear friend to me. That

touch shakier than usual,

one before. It felt a bit as if, with the air cleared, things

we both wanted to move forward and leave this behind us, so I brought up the other question

accused Bridget of knowing Prince Ronan," I said. "Was

everything before I came to you,

my elbows on the railing,

from a paparazzi. But it

was evidence impossible

Julian continued, "But it is damn suspicious. She's also stonewalling me. If she wasn't guilty, wouldn't she want to help catch the person

frustration, and

sure as hell could help more. The only reason I could

talk about her full knowledge and relationship with Prince Ronan was if she was actually in love with him and trying to protect